No Matter Where You Are, UPS Will Always Come When You’re Not Around

What’s interesting about Michael’s complaint is that he owns a store that rents out mailboxes. He receives packages from UPS frequently at the store, and had his new hard drive from Newegg shipped there so he wouldn’t have to worry about it being delivered when he wasn’t home. This would have worked really well if UPS came by during anything resembling business hours. Had he known that they wouldn’t come by with the package until 7:30 PM, he would have sent it to his house.

So, I ordered a new hard drive off of Newegg since I was short on space and it was on sale. UPS 3-day was free, so I thought why not? Big mistake. I decided to have it delivered to my store since I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being home to answer the door. UPS tracking said that it would be here on Wednesday. Wednesday came, no sign of the delivery guy at closing (5PM), so I didn’t think much of it and just left. It turns out that the delivery guy came at 5:47, no one was there, and they would try again tomorrow.

The next day, someone from across the street came by and handed me the “InfoNotice” that was supposed to be on the front door. I wonder how it went there? Well, it said that they would try delivery again between 2 and 5. 5PM came, and no delivery guy. I thought he was just running a little late, so I decided to stay back and wait a little longer. After all, UPS says it was out for delivery again, and I really need this drive.

6:30PM, I’m still at the store and still no delivery guy. At this point, I’m pretty damn frustrated, so I decided to call UPS and gave them the InfoNotice number. They said that it would be another HOUR until the delivery guy gets here! I told her that there was no way I was going to wait another hour for a package that should have came the day before.

She then suggested that the package be put on will-call and I pick it up myself. At that point, I’m furious. Why in the hell would I waste even MORE of my time and gas to pick up that package!? I just told them to try again tomorrow. I just hope that they actually come this time.

To be fair, UPS is usually pretty reliable. I own a small store that rents out mailboxes, so packages from them come almost everyday. This incident really changes what I think about them.

This is what I came here to say… when I order something and it’s being shipped UPS I can count on it showing up between 7 and 7:30 at night.

And seriously, one issue and you’re letting it sour your whole business relationship with them, OP? I had a UPS deliver driver toss a box onto my porch from about 6 feet away once, and it wasn’t a little box, it was a large box with a computer case in it. You could hear the box loudly hit the porch and fall over, and when I opened the door maybe five seconds later the driver was in the delivery van pulling away.

So I called UPS and complained… they said they’d address the issue and I never had another problem.

Where are you getting the 7:30 PM information? I’ve had UPS deliveries arrive at my home as late as 8:30 – 9 PM, and UPS’ web site states: “…shipments are generally delivered anytime between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (and sometimes later) to residences, and by close of business for commercial addresses.” (See http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/sri/tracking_shipment_delivery_time.html). In my experience, “sometimes later” happens pretty often. I’ve also been in the unfortunate position of staying home all night and waiting until 9 PM for a package scheduled for delivery that day — at 8:45 UPS’ web site is telling me it’s still going to come, but it doesn’t arrive. So I check again at 9:05, and see the delivery has been “rescheduled” for the next day. Thanks, UPS.

I am the OP in this article and, you know what? You’re completely right about the complaining to the CS agent. Believe it or not, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I sell stuff online and I deal with angry customers everyday who just outright ignore or even get angry at any solutions I provide and insist that I issue a full refund immediately without the item even being returned. I can go on about this all day. I sincerely apologize if what I wrote came out the wrong way. To be honest, I was just rambling when I wrote this and I’m surprised it actually got published! What I was really trying to say is that UPS should have been more diligent about getting the item delivered at all. The package was on it’s 3rd and last delivery attempt when it finally got delivered. Regarding the comment that said the address should have been marked business, my store has been a registered CMRA for at least 20 years and I’ve owned it since 2005. The store receives mail and packages (including UPS) for hundreds of clients everyday, most of them using the mailbox for personal use. The driver should have known my business hours. Think about this from my point of view. What if this package was not for me, but for a client. What if it missed all 3 delivery attempts? Guess who gets blamed for that? Regarding the comment about how I should be familiar with the driver that delivers the packages, there are 2 different drivers that deliver UPS to my store. One of them, I’m familiar with and knows my business hours. The other always seems to come in right after closing (I sometimes have to stay in after hours to get work done). The latter delivered the package on the 3rd attempt. I can only imagine he made the last 2 as well. back to my point, even if he was unfamiliar with my business hours, shouldn’t he have seen by posted business hours after the first attempt and schedule accordingly? I’m rambling again, so I’ll just stop here. One more thing. to everyone complaining about me wasting my time writing this, can you remind me how I saw your comment? That’s right, you took your time to write and post it. Who’s wasting their time now? Ok, still me since I’m writing this, but I rest my case.

When you pick an address for FedEx or UPS you can check whether it’s a business or a residence. When it’s a business, they’ll only deliver during business hours. Clearly, UPS has your work address marked as a residence. That’s why they’re attempting to deliver it so late, they’re trying to get it to you after you get home from work, for your convenience.

It doesn’t matter what you tell them, they decide whether it’s a residence or a business. This was a major issue for a company that was two doors down from a UPS distribution center in an industrial park. The UPS computer said it was a residence, and nothing the local people could do could change that.

They have “up to” 7:30 or so to deliver the package. I’ve had this happen with FedEx, but it’s rare. Usually the drivers that have a regular business route know who closes at five. The OP might have had a sub on the route that week or something. They tend to be slower because they aren’t familiar with it.

It pays to make friends with your drivers too. I schmoozed mine and they were always nice enough to warn me if they were going to be gone and someone else running their route, or any other upcoming stuff that could delay pickups and deliveries. If I had any issues, I could tell them, and I also tried to warn them when I knew I would have a ton of packages or something really heavy. (And I held the door for them too.) I had really good FedEx drivers. I miss them since I lost my job. :(

UPS Ground packages are delivered to residential addresses Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and to business addresses during their normal business hours Monday through Friday. UPS Ground packages cannot be scheduled to arrive at a specific time of day. UPS express shipments have guaranteed delivery times that vary by service. Track your package for an up-to-date status.

Other than time-definite air deliveries, shipments are generally delivered anytime between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (and sometimes later) to residences, and by close of business for commercial addresses. UPS cannot schedule a specific delivery time within that window. Up to three delivery attempts will be made, excluding weekends and holidays.

In the U.S. and Canada, for residential deliveries that require a signature, you can leave instructions for the driver if no one will be home. For example, you can ask that the shipment be delivered to a neighbor who will be home. If an adult signature is required and the sender has instructed us not to leave the shipment with a neighbor, we will make another delivery attempt on the next business day. Shipments that don’t require a signature can be left in a safe place at the driver’s discretion. This could include the front porch, side door, back porch, or garage area.

Sounds like the OPs problem here, UPS is delivering per their stated guidelines. If you had it shipped through some method with guaranteed delivery then you would have something to actually complain about.

His own words. The fact he owns a business where he would (in theory) interact with his UPS driver daily, yet he seems to refer to this guy/gal like a complete stranger is inconsistent with my experience with UPS/FedEx at my home and multiple jobs.

UPS is not at fault here, they are attempting to deliver within the time frames noted on their website.

I work in Customer Service and cannot tell you how many customers call in to complain that they missed delivery because they weren’t at home. If you order something online and have it delivered to you it is your responsibility to make sure you are available to accept the delivery.

Isn’t it just tragic how people get to decide what they consider irritating, annoying or inconvenient for themselves? Why, those whiners should get a list of Officially Approved Reasons to Complain and if they deviate from it, EVERYONE can take time out of their day to complain about that Non-Officially Approved Complaint!

I have had numerous delivery time/place problems with UPS similar to this one – too many “delivered” packages stolen, returned pkgs gone “missing” etc. and No Options to request pick-up at a UPS facility – even though they have turned into Homeland Security to even do that – requiring to swipe my Drivers Lic info into their database.

I have begun to call and write complaints to Businesses that only use UPS and have mostly discontinued doing business with them for that reason. A few have since offered USPS now.

I have had much better service with USPS (I know when it will be delivered) and Fed Ex priority has been most reliable for time/place.

I would like to see more businesses offer more shipping options – and stop the UPS monopoly of bad service.

I’ve had this problem regularly with FedEx. They will ignore delivery instructions for a first attempt, say one day that due to whatever circumstances a delivery was not attempted for a second attempt. The next day it will retroactively change the ‘delivery not attempted’ to second attempt and third attempt, and make me drive across town to pick it up from the depot… All without a single knock at the door.

Did the OP check the online tracking status? It always arrives on the day it says “out for delivery” – even if it’s late. I’m at the end of a UPS route & have a residential address & and always get it late.

I believe UPS decides if the address is residential or business. I have sent items out thinking it was to a residential address, when I get the bill it has been corrected to a business address (and I get charged less.) So I think it is in their database what kind of an address it is.

That would generally resolve things like this. Unfortunately it uses some sort of credit database to verify your identity / clean up their database on the current address of everyone they have ever delivered a package to. The best part is the option to pay a recurring fee to effectively have delivery options that used to be free.

The last time they had a package for me, the driver couldn’t wait the 47 seconds it took for me to get to the door (literally — my doorbell was a prototype model which displayed the time(s) it was used). I had no choice but to take a taxi to the distribution center. I had my passport and military ID (long expired, but it was a photo ID), but those weren’t good enough — without a driver’s license, I couldn’t get package.

Since UPS sent the package back marked “delivery refused.” the retailer didn’t refund the shipping charges (understandable).

i have been at my current address for more than several years – i live four blocks from city hall – i live two blocks from a united states district court – i live six blocks from symphony hall – i have NEVER once been able to get a UPS delivery to my home address before 6pm – NEVER.

It would seem that the UPS driver would have figured out that the delivery location was a business after he/she found it closed on the first delivery attempt. He/she should have returned the next day during business hours. This, despite the fact that the shipper may have marked the order for residential delivery. That would be good customer service, something I don’t often experience with UPS. That is why I consider them to provide Unusually Poor Service.

This is why I appreciate it when online stores have a checkbox for whether an address is residential or business. Also, shipping to a business is normally a couple bucks cheaper – while they have to deliver during business hours, they’re also a lot less likely to have to come back out, reducing their expenses.

UPS isn’t a package delivery service. They’re a middleman to get my package from its origin to within 10 miles of my location. As long as I ship with them fully expecting to have to go pick up the damn thing myself, they’re great.

What drives me bonkers about UPS is in the scenario where I know something’s being delivered on a certain day and I know I have to sign for it and I know I won’t be there… They won’t let you just hold it at the UPS location. They insist on loading it on the truck, driving to your door, where you’ve already told them you won’t be, and then taking it back to the UPS location before they will let you pick it up there.

It seems like it saves them time & gas to just *not* load it on the truck in the first place, but they simply won’t do it.